Left in the Dark
by Vorox3
Summary: How can one continue when there is nothing to continue for? (Red Dwarf!AU)
1. What the Days Have Come To

**AN:**** Hello all, It's been a bit since you last heard from me! It's because I've been working on this idea of mine! Enough time has passed and now it's ready.**

**Thanks to Spartacus400 on /r/RWBY for beta reading.**

**********Disclaimer************: RWBY is a product of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. All characters are owned by Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC.******************

* * *

**What the Days Have Come To**

* * *

She grunted. She pushed up against the rubble. The old piece of concrete was barely moving an inch. The girl looked up, checking her surroundings for any of her team. Across the yard, she saw her sister, hefting a chunk of metal. She waved for her sibling, calling out for her. The other girl stepped over the barren wasteland and set down her load.

"What is it, Ruby?" Yang asked.

Ruby glanced up at her sister, sighing. She missed being able to look at her sister and see her brown vest and those black shorts she always had wore. Now, it had been replaced by a silver, one-piece, thermal suit with an oxygen tank strapped to her back. Lilac eyes stared down through a foggy visor, attempting to read the shorter girl's emotions.

"This piece of concrete won't budge…" Ruby pointed the large slab of man-made material.

Yang pressed her shoulder to the rubble, gesturing for her sister to aid her. Together they heaved the concrete off from the pile of debris. It fell to its side and crumbled into small pieces. Peering down at what they had uncovered, the youngest carefully leaned down and gently picked up the broken girder.

Ruby fumbled with the heavy metal, "Is that iron?"

"Looks like it…" Yang took a glimpse at the sky, "We should start to regroup with the lorry. They should be heading back down soon, come on." She lifted up her small gallery of irons and steels. Her boots were already making knew prints; she was eager to finish this run. Though Ruby wasn't as in a hurry as her sister, taking her time to prop the girder under her arm. Copying Yang's actions, she looked up at the sky. A beautiful deep shade of blue signaled the day was coming to a close. A small red sun hung over the dull horizon.

Beginning her stride, the frozen earth threatened to crack her feet. She followed her team member through the abandoned streets. Most of the infrastructure had fallen apart. The remaining buildings of the town were on the brink of collapsing under their own weight. Fallen rubble had made strolling through the avenues tedious and exhausting. It was as if she was making her way through a warzone. Only she wished it was a warzone. A war is something a planet could recover from eventually.

This was the edge of Vale. The scavenge teams dared not enter the main city yet, fearing it still too unstable. It was decided that the teams would work their way in as time went on, giving time to let technologies evolve to allow for easier scavenge runs. But at the current time, no technologies have been produced yet to survive the temperatures, except for simplified astronaut suits and the lorry.

The sun was just over the horizon by the time they reached the elevator, or as the rest of the scavenge teams appropriately nicknamed it: _The Hellevator_. There, waiting by the lift platform, was the lorry and the other members of the team. The two sisters deposited their findings into the lorry and joined two of their friends leaning on a safety railing.

"I hate coming up to the surface…" Pyrrha spoke to Ren as they approached.

"Hey, guys," Yang greeted, trying to be as cheerful as possible, "How'd you do this run?"

Ren looked up from the dirt, "We did okay."

"We each collected about twenty-three kilograms." Pyrrha detailed, "What about you?"

"I got twenty-seven, I don't know what Rubes got." The blonde turned to her sibling.

Ruby sighed, gazing out into the distance, "...Eleven…"

"It's okay, Ruby…" Yang patted the girl's back.

'_It's not okay,Yang.'_ Ruby thought to herself as the _Hellevator _rose to the surface and opened its doors, _'It's not.'_

The lorry and the scavenge grouped up inside the freight elevator. Its heavy doors shut and sealed metal box air-tight. They felt the lift move down one story and stop, hearing the surface gate close up while the gate beneath made from for the elevator. After the transfer from the surface to the underground, the lift continued its trek. As they went deeper, the air in the room heated up to habitable temperatures.

Yang noticed her sister blankly staring at the floor, "Ruby...are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She lied.

They felt the _Hellevator _stop. They were home. New Mountain Glenn.

* * *

Blake watched the surface elevator touch down into the city as she dug her hoe into the dirt. She looked over to the sweaty Weiss, "Scavenge team is back."

"Uh-huh…" Weiss panted out, doing as the faunus did with her own cultivating tool.

Blake sighed and heaved her tool again, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine." Weiss said without breaking from her work.

"Are you sure?" Blake raised a brow

Weiss sighed and shook her head lightly.

"You're still worried about them, aren't you?"

Weiss wet her lip, "Blake, it's been two and a half months since the incident," She glanced at the surface elevator, "And we still haven't heard from any of the other kingdoms. The Grimm have disappeared. And we still don't understand how _this _even happened…" Her fingertips rubbed her forehead, "So, yes, Blake. I am still worried."

Finishing her sentence, the sound of something blunt hitting the dirt diverted their attention. They peeped over their shoulders to see a familiar blond, exhausted and fatigued, limp on the city's fertile soil. A orange-haired girl quickly dashed to his aid, standing him upright and dusting off. Her eyes searching for any authorities that spied her friend's tumble. She took him by the shoulders and shook him into consciousness. He was handed his heavy bag of seeds and tiredly returned to work.

Blake wiped her sticky forehead and gazed up the giant ultraviolet heat lamps. A gritty, unpleasant buzzing resonating off it.

"I wished the turned off the lamps when we worked." Weiss commented.

"We both know that'll never happen," Blake said plainly, "They never turn off the lamps."

Blake was ultimately right. The lamps and everything else in the city was powered around the clock by multiple dust reactors. These dust reactors were fed fuel all hours of the day by the smelters.

Six groups of people exist in New Mountain Glenn. Four of them are the major laborers; smelters, miners, cultivators, and the scavenge teams. The other two weren't very labor demanding, but they were needed none the less; merchants and the police. The police were very strict. How could anyone blame them though? In their current condition, they needed everything to be as orderly as possible.

But that doesn't mean everything _is _orderly.

* * *

They passed by cracking concrete buildings as they moved down the main road. A nearby woman cried out for help as she was presumably robbed. Some random man was regurgitating in the streets while another was beat by a group in an alley. The aroma of human and faunus waste filled the air. Nobody cared. This was just how life was in New Mountain Glenn, dirty, scummy, and hellish. Everyone was either fatigued, sick, or dying. And everybody knew that.

A silver boot stepped into a puddle of murky water, pulling along the treated metal cart. Street-goers divided to let the lorry and its workers pass through. Their heads bowed in respect as the scavenge team made its way through the city. Scavenge team members were usually honored and treated very kindly. The citizens believed that over the hard working cultivators and over the sweating miners and smelters, these workers obtained the most difficult profession.

This was widely believed not because it was a the most labor demanding job, but because it was the most depressing. The scavenge teams had the task of returning to the surface and scraping up any usable metal they could find. Every run they performed, they had to step through the destroyed city in which they spent their days. Make their way past the rubble of their homes. Rip up buildings they had fond memories of and dig through people's homes. And they must walk through the cold under that red star.

Their captain, Oobleck, took the lead. A meter behind them were Yang and Pyrrha pulling the metal cart carrying a couple hundred kilograms of iron, steel, bronze, silver, and gold. Ruby and another member stood on the inside of the lorry to keep a watchful eye on the stability of their cargo. Two more pushed the back of the lorry as Ren coned off the rear from the crowd.

The redheaded member across from Ruby scowled as his olive eyes scanned his surrounds, evaluating his situation. This man had repeated that same growl, everyday at the same time since they were assigned to this job. This wonderful gentleman was none other than the infamous Roman Torchwick. If the world was the same as it used to be, these two would have been at each others' throats. But times had changed in a drastic turn for the worst. They both understood circumstances that civilization faced and they both understood if they wanted to fight one another again they had to live through this frozen hell first. And play nice while they do it.

This is what they did every week after they returned from a scavenge run. They would take the cart and their findings through the underground city until they reached the far side. Once there they'd dismount and allow the smelters to take control of the lorry. The smelters would empty the lorry, melt down the metals, and send the lorry back to the scavenge teams' base of operations to be readied for its next run.

Upon approaching the gate to the smeltery, two familiar faces stood waiting for them. The blond faunus on the left pounded the door.

"Open up! The lorry's here!" He announced. The gate's lock clanked unlocked, allowing the large doors to sluggishly swung in.

His blue haired friend stepped up to Oobleck, "We'll take it from here!"

Their captain turned back to his team, "Disembark! Regroup in the HQ for the assessment of the next operation!"

"Yes, Sir!" The team called back.

Ruby jumped down from her perch and met with her sibling.  
"Come on, let's get out of these suits." Yang pulled Ruby along.

* * *

Ruby reclined into her seat, her tired arms resting on the table. She struggled to keep her focus steady as Oobleck went on about their next run. On the chalkboard behind him was a rough, hand-drawn map of Vale and New Mountain Glenn. Red chalk circled points of interest and yellow lines drew a restricted area. To the right of the crude map was another blackboard that listed instructions, estimated time frames, equipment needed, and of course at the bottom in big, bold, capital letters-

**IF YOU FALL BEHIND**

**YOU CAN AND WILL BE LEFT BEHIND**

The ex-professor picked up his red chalk as he spoke and marked a large circle on the map. Ruby's heart sank as she saw where the man had noted. He had circled Beacon Academy. Of all places, that was the place Ruby never wanted to return to. It was where her best days had been spent, it was where she made true friends, it was where she stood when the world came to an end.

Returning to Beacon would only bring memories of the times she could no longer go back to and bring depression and anger along with it. Unfortunately, that case _was_ in her job description.

"It'll be at least a five hour hike up to Beacon Academy. Once there we will split into four groups of two. Ruby and Yang," He pointed to the respective members, "Pyrrha and Ren, Yatsuhashi and Torchwick, and Sage and I. We will scavenge the Academy for any metals, Ruby, Yang, Pyrrha, and Ren will take the dorms, and Yatsuhashi, Torchwick, Sage and I will take the rest of the school. We will stay for as long as we can and then return to the surface elevator. It will be a longer run than usual, so I recommend bringing an extra oxygen tank." He paused, "Does everyone understand?"

The group of people gave a, "Yes, Sir"

"Good. Prepare yourselves. We will be performing this run on the first day of the new month. You are dismissed"

Ruby stood up and made way through the door, Yang following close behind her.

Yang caught up a placed her hand on her sister's shoulder, "Let's head home and grab some things, then we'll go to the market. Okay?"

"Okay…"

* * *

Every person they passed, who saw their cobalt jumpsuit, bowed their head gently in respect. Ruby hated the small homage. It outcasted her, isolated her in a time where what she needed was another person's love. It was no matter if it gave her honor. What good was honor in a destroyed world?

She sighed and scaled the concrete apartment complex to the second floor. Her fingers reached for the door handle when she noticed the door had been busted open. Taking up a defensive stance, she looked back at her sister. She carefully pushed the door open without a sound. Fear ran through her veins, her heart pounded into her ears, adrenaline shook her frame.

The door creaked open to Weiss, hovering over an unconscious Blake, who was bleeding from her scalp. The Schnee sat next to the bed, gently wetting the fauns' forehead and washing up the crimson stain. A worried glance was exchanged between the trio.

"What happened?" Yang darted past Ruby.

"We got back from our shift and when we got here we found that someone had broken in," Weiss explained as Yang moved to the closest, rummaging through its contents, "Blake fended him off, I was too exhausted to fight. He got a good punch on her and knocked her unconscious. That scared him off though…I don't think he had the chance to steal anything..."

Yang located a satchel and tossed it over her shoulder, "We'll check later, Ruby and I are going to the market, you need anything?"

Weiss shook her head, "I should have everything here to help her…." Her azure eyes shifted. She exhaled and turned to Blake.

Ever since the incident, the bond between the black and white pair had grown much, to the point of inseparability. Maybe it was because they were both assigned to be cultivators or maybe it was just the current situation. Either way a link between them had be formed; you never saw Weiss without Blake nor Blake without Weiss.

The world has definitely changed.

* * *

"Four peppers, four tomatoes, and a handful of the green beans," Yang ordered at a barely stable booth. Ruby leaned on the stand's post. She craned her head up and surveyed the cave ceiling. Water dripped from the stalactites and onto the paved floor. Vale had discovered this giant cave under the Mountain Glenn subway system sometime back, it was theorized that it was the old hive of the subterranean Grimm that had wiped out the underground city. A small research station was set up on the surface that would send scientists into the hole for further research. It was a small, but significant discovery. But no one thought it would become Vale's safe haven.

New Mountain Glenn was built up in a few weeks due to the nonstop labor of its civilians. It wasn't as if they had another choice, not when the surface was freezing. Once the infrastructure was set up, citizens were assigned new jobs. Ruby and Yang were two of the sixteen 'lucky' people to be selected for scavenge crew. So, now this is what they live in.

This is what the days had come to.

Wake up, work, survive, eat, sleep, repeat. Wake up, work, survive, eat, sleep, repeat.

"Why are we still doing this, Yang?" Ruby piped up.

"Huh?" Yang looked over as the man behind the booth arranged her request.

Ruby sighed, staring at the wet concrete ground, "What's the point...of...doing _this_ anymore…We can't fix this...we're stuck down here…"

"Ruby!" Yang was shocked. Her little sister was usually the one carrying the team through these rough times, if she was thinking like this, something was _very _wrong.

"What?"

"You know why we do this…" Yang looked over her sibling, "We do it to survive…"

"Yeah...but…why?"

Yang slid a bottle of liquor to the vender and shoved her items into her satchel as she approached the red girl. She slung an arm over Ruby, "Well, Ruby…" She searched for a string of words, "It's because we're...people...And that's what people try to do; survive."

* * *

"Get your bowls." Yang commanded, spreading out their 'meal' onto the tiny table in the center of the room.

Weiss scurried to the shared tin nightstand to gather her and Blake's dinnerware. Transitioning the bowls to the table, she filled them both with their given rations. She turned back to the bedridden faunus and set their meals down. A swift movement unsheathed her pocket knife. A worried look drifted over to the weakened girl as she diced the pepper, small slits of amber meeting her gaze. Weiss passed the food to Blake in an almost parental gesture.

"Eat…" Weiss ordered, not beginning on her meal until the girl nibbled on her dinner.

Ruby opened the closet to retrieve her bowl, which sat with the rest of her belongings. Lifting it up, she caught a glimpse of her old black and red outfit, resting on a hanger. She reached out a hand to nestle the fabric between her fingertips, sniveling to push down her emotions. She sighed and shut the closet, spinning on her heel. She looked at her team.

And donned the fakest smile she could muster up.

* * *

_**Love,**_

_**~Vox**_


	2. The Incident

**AN: The next installment of this budding story is here! This should shed some light on the girls' current situation. Anyway, here's the chapter, read it, enjoy it, and review.**

**Thanks to Spartacus400 on /r/RWBY for beta reading.**

**********Disclaimer************: RWBY is a product of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. All characters are owned by Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC.******************

* * *

**The Incident**

* * *

Ruby yawned and stretched out her limbs. Her back creating a somewhat audible pop that attracted a disgusted look from her immediate classmates. She dismissed their glances and wiped her eyes. Upon finishing, the young girl flopped back down into her slouched position, listening to Professor-No, _Dr_. Oobleck ramble on. Ruby sloppily jotted down his words while barely even contemplating them. It was all she could do as she waited for the time to pass by and the bell to ring. She just wanted to escape the classroom at all costs.

Her white-themed teammate witnessed Ruby's actions and acknowledged them with a disapproving shake of the head. Mentally transmitting a lengthy lecture to the younger girl, who sighed in reply.

"Ruby." The heiress' quiet, commanding voice intruded their silent exchange.

Ruby peered out the tall glass window and mumbled, "What?"

"What did I tell you about-"

"I know, I know. 'Paying attention in class,'" Ruby sat her chin into her palm.

Weiss crossed her arms, "And?"

There was a small pause before the scythe-wielder murmured, "'Taking neat notes...'"

"It's not that hard, Ruby."

"I know," Ruby groaned, "It's just, I don't want to learn this with a pen and paper...I'd rather learn it with my own two eyes and two feet...like when we went to Mountain Glenn…"

Weiss rested a hand on her team leader's shoulder, "Look, I know you want to get out there, but you need to do this first. And you need to do it right. You have all the time you need to go out and explore after this." She sat back up, "It's not like today is the end of the world." She added.

"I guess you're right…" Ruby adjusted the pen in her grip and continued on with the lesson.

Oobleck put his chalk down and turned to the ensemble of students, "Alright, class, you know the drill! Standard paper on my desk tomorrow!"

Yang and Ruby groaned in sync with their bell.

* * *

The team leader inhaled a deep breath of the fresh summer air as her and her team made their way through the school's gigantic courtyard. Her steps almost prancing in a thrill as to experiencing the outdoors once again. She felt the radiant sun against her chilled skin. A small, cool breeze accompanying the yellow star in the complicated dance that was nature. Hidden in the branches of the flourishing trees, an orchestra of beaked woodwinds played the dance's rhythm along with the whistle of the leaves. Truly, a wonderful day for an explorer.

"I told you, Ruby," Weiss piped up, "You have all the time in the world to come out here."

Ruby spun around the group, "I get it, Weiss, you were right!" She skipped off to her team's right, near the edge of the path. Careening alongside of the stone walkway was the beginning of one of Beacon's beautiful gardens. The nature preserves were home to all different kinds of life, hundreds of species of plants and dozens of species of animals. In the garden, all the life coexisted peacefully, even with the students.

"Woah, Sis, you can calm down a little."

The beaming girl giggled and spied a lovely white rose down by her feet, "I'm just happy to get out of that classroom…" She squatted to meet the flower, cupping it with her palm, "Aren't you guys too?"

No response.

"Guys?"

Again, No response.

"Guys, are you ok?" Ruby turned to her teammates. Weiss, Blake, and Yang were staring up into the sky. Then she noticed everyone else in the courtyard had froze too, mesmerized by something in the sky. The just all stopped in their places. Books and scrolls slowly slipped from hands. Everyone just froze like a terrified animal. Ruby cautiously craned her head up.

The yellow sun was gone. And a red one had taken its place.

* * *

The star so dearest to them, the star that gave them life with shining radiance and beauty. The star they took for granted had vanished. Only to be replaced with the dim dwarf emitting a terrifying red glow.

A tiny pool of a dark roast swirled inside its porcelain confinement. Radiating it steam into the air and against the skin of the aging headmaster. The heat prickling up against his senses as he took in the sweet aroma of his caffeinated nectar. His hand cupped the mug for its warmth and pushed the rim up to his lips, letting the piping drug flow into his system. A relaxed sigh welcomed the searing heat. It seemed to melt the troubles away for the moment, like the calm before taking on the storm.

He sniffed his roast once more and opened his eyes to the world. To his school. Looking down out his emerald-tinted observation deck, he oversaw his students traverse the university's elaborate courtyards. Everything had finally been settling down after the incident in downtown Vale. Most of those involved with the Breach, as it's been coined, have almost completely recovered; physically and emotionally. The White Fang had also seemingly dropped off the face of Remnant for the time being. Grimm densities were at an all time low. The kingdom was silent.

Too silent.

A few minutes ticked by as he watched his school operate. It wasn't until he went for another sip of coffee he realized something about his students.  
They had stopped. Every single one. Frozen where they stood.

Books were dropped, bags slid off their owners' shoulders, scrolls fell from fingers' grasp. They all stared at up into the blue sky, captivated by whatever they saw.

Ozpin turned to discover what sight could cause such a reaction. That's when his jaw nearly dropped. He watched the red sun blankly for a few seconds before realizing that something needed to be done about the students below. The last thing anyone needed right now was panic.

He spun to his desk and plopped his coffee onto its surface, almost spilling it. Opening up his holopanel, he readied the schools intercom. He approached his window, intercom in hand, as the holopanel behind him dialed a 'General Ironwood'.

* * *

Silver eyes widened in witness of the red orb in the sky. Ruby was petrified, she couldn't bring herself to move an inch. She didn't know what was happening and no one else seemed to know either. No one had any idea how this was going to affect them. If they did, they chose not to speak up, leaving everybody in the dark. And for the first time in a long time, Ruby was afraid.

"Attention students and faculty." Ozpin's voice surfaced through the silence, snapping team RWBY out of their daze, "Students must immediately return to their dorms and all faculty must immediately return to their classrooms and/or lounges."

Before the headmaster had finished, Weiss had already begun making her way for the dorms, "Come on, dolts." She called back.

Blake and Yang decided not to give a retort and just follow the Schnee. Ruby, putting caution in her step, tailed her team, her eyes still locked with the menacing red sun.

"Ruby, hurry up!" Yang called back, pulling the younger sibling from her gaze. Ruby shook her head and quickly caught up to her friends.

* * *

"I don't like this." Ruby said from her bunk.

Weiss sighed and set down her pen onto her history paper, "None of us do, Ruby."

"I know...It's just…" The brunette sat up, "It's been over an hour since..whatever that was outside...happened, and we still haven't heard a thing about it!"

"Ozpin probably knows as much as us, Ruby," Blake looked up from her weapon, "It was most likely his instinct to get everyone inside."

Ruby hopped off her bed, "Someone has to have an idea of what is going on! I say we go find them!"

"No. Ruby." Yang shot her sister down from behind her scroll, "Ozpin said to stay in the dorms."

"But doesn't not knowing bother you guys?" The team leader approached the dorm's window.

Weiss rolled her eyes and spun her chair to face the red girl, "Yes, but there is nothing we can do about it at the moment. So we just have to wait."

Ruby huffed, hunching over as she looked out the window. In a sign of defeat she let her forehead fall onto the glass. Contact was barely made before she immediately recoiled, almost losing her balance.

"You ok, Rubes?" The blonde raised a brow.

"Yeah…" Ruby placed her hand on the pane. An icy chill pierced her skin, causing her to shiver, "It's spring right?"

The other three girls hummed a simultaneous 'Yes.' "This week was the warmest it's been this month," Blake added.

"Hey, guys, look at this," Yang conjugated her team in the center of the room around her scroll.

"Let's me see that," Weiss swiped the tablet away from her teammate, who clamored a loud, "HEY!"

The Ice Queen gave Yang a searing stare, backing her off, "...It's an announcement from General Ironwood." She tapped the screen.

"_Attention citizens of Vale." _Ironwood's voice boomed through the scroll's speakers, "_An evacuation of the kingdom is under way. Immediately start packing your belongings; notice, you are only allowed to pack fifteen kilograms per person. You will then immediately rendezvous with the nearest evac point, those points are in a list attached with this announcement. Once there, you will board a series of infantry transport vehicles that will transport you to Mountain Glenn. Further instructions will be given to you upon your arrival. End Message."_

"Hmph.." Weiss handed the device back to Yang and swiftly spun on her heel to begin packing her bag. Blake followed her without a word.

Yang pocketed her scroll and patted her sister's back, "Better get packin'..." She said lightheartedly before leaving her sibling's side.

Ruby drifted in the center of the room, hanging in her own silence. This had to be a dream. There was no possible way something like this could be happening. Not now. There was still so much she wanted to do. So much she needed to do. She needed to explore her world, but she hadn't even finished her first year of college. Now this happens.

"Attention students and faculty," The team paused for their headmaster's message, "Bullhead dropships are on standby to deliver you to the closet rendezvous point. Please move expediently."

Ruby forced herself over to her bunk bed and pulled out a suitcase from underneath it. She placed it on Weiss' bed and snapped it open. She transferred several pairs of clothes into her luggage, filling it halfway. Then she reached for Crescent Rose.

"Ruby, what are you doing? We can't take our weapons, they're too heavy," Weiss interjected from her left.

"Then I'll leave the clothes…"

"Ruby…" Came Yang's voice, "Forgot Crescent Rose, clothing is more important...Now come on, we have to get down to the bullheads."

* * *

Ruby tried looked down at her knees wobbling in her seat. Her vision was blurry as her head rocked in all sorts of directions. She bounced in the flat seat repeatedly. She swore that the driver of this truck was purposefully hitting every bump in their path. Straining to keep herself still, her fingertips grabbed at the edge of her seat.

Her body shuddered in the cold air. It was getting near winter temperatures.

When they were dropped off at the rendezvous, they were almost immediately loaded up onto military grade trucks. Ruby had conversed with some of the other passengers to try and form a theory on what was happening. So far, no one knew anything.

She tilted her head up to look at the armed soldier to her right. He stared straight on, out the back of the canopied truck bed. The barrel of his rifle was in his palm as its stock pivoted against the floor of the bed as terrible suspension attempted to keep the vehicle stable. He looked to be tired, and the unconscious chewing of his jaw was a red flag for anxiety. He did his best not to make any eye contact with the evacuees.

"Excuse me!" Ruby shouted over the loud diesel engine and truck's impact against the terrain.

Before turning to face the schoolgirl, he glanced down for a moment, mentally preparing himself, "What is it?"

"Do you have any idea what's happening?"

The soldier took a minute to carefully contemplate his answer. His eyes drifted over Ruby, her team, and the dozen and a half of civilians aboard the transport. He had to give a reply without stirring up any sort of panic. But was that possible at moment like this? Every passing moment grew tension. If he was vague in any way, alarm would arise and if he was too descriptive, the same response would be found. There was no correct answer right now. It was now just whether he gave them the truth or a lie.

"Ok, everybody, listen up!" The soldier stomped up to his feet, "I have something to tell you all that no one here is gonna like," He sighed to himself as everybody had locked their focus on him, "I do not know the full extent of what happened about two hours ago, but I do know this; Life as you knew it is gone." The passengers blinked at him, "All the citizens of Vale, men, women, children, are being transported to Mountain Glenn. There you will be dropped off to wait to be brought down into Mountain Glenn."

_No._

_ Please._

_ No._

* * *

Another ten minutes ticked by. It was freezing. Ice was starting to form out on the ground around them. Any longer and some of the other civilians might start showing signs of hypothermia.

"Next group of fifty, get in!" A soldier called out as the crowd diminished slightly.

"Don't push or shove! Remain orderly!" The voice of another soldier echoed

The four were close enough to the front of the crowd to catch a glimpse of what they were being led to. Ruby stood on the toes of her boots to look over people in front of them. Civilians, shoulder to shoulder, were being packed into a freight elevator the size of a small room. She watched as the heavy doors closed and clanked together, locking and sealing. After about a minute, the lift initiated its decent.

"They're bringing us underground?" Yang raised her brow.

Blake looked up into the red dusk sky, "Maybe it has to do something with the cold?"

Weiss shook her head, "But Mountain Glenn's underground city is level with the subway system, it's not deep enough to have a large effect on temperature differences…This doesn't make sense, all of this."

"That doesn't seem to make a difference with them," Ruby said

"Next fifty, standby!"

Blake's spine stiffened. A chill ran down her back. Her ears twitched. Something was off. Someone was _watching _her. She combed the crowd, searching for any peering eyes. Though all the people constantly conversing with each other made it difficult to spot the one oddball in the sea of heads.

"You ok, Blake?" Yang glanced down at her troubled teammate.

"I…" The faunus let her answer hang for a moment before abandoning her sweep, "I'm fine."

The elevator rose back up above the surface, its metal doors opening wide wide for its next serving. The soldiers ordered the next group forward. Team RWBY was pulled into the lift. They were pushed, shoved, and squeezed by the others until they finally settled at the front of the fifty. Panicked civilians mumbled aloud over the humming of the overhead lights. But their voices were soon drowned out by the doors swinging shut.

As they closed, that's when Blake saw it.

Saw _him. His horns._

He stared directly into her until the until the doors closed him off from view.

_Adam._

* * *

**Action on all character fronts!**

_**Love,**_

_**~Vox**_


	3. The Safe Haven

**AN:**** _Will Adam return? Will Ruby rebound? Will Weiss start feeling? Stay tuned to find out._**

**Thanks to Spartacus400 on /r/RWBY for beta reading.**

**********Disclaimer************: RWBY is a product of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. All characters are owned by Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC.******************

* * *

**The Safe Haven**

* * *

The elevator doors opened up to the giant underground cavern. Immediately one could see, through the dim light, that it was already being modified by a labor force. Foundations for what looked to be buildings were being established by what looked like civilians. Lantern-spikes were driven into the rock to light the workers' area, causing a spectacle of a sea of underground lights.

All the way at the back of the cave, five huge metal stacks stretched between the floor and ceiling of the cave. A tall wall could be seen being built in the vicinity of the stacks. And not too far away from that was enormous mounds of dirt being settled into a framework.

Ruby and her team were quickly guided by a pair of soldiers, "Come on, move it! The General is waiting for you!" Another two began to lead the group down the stretch of the main rock road. Her boots stepped over the wet, dirty cave floor. The cavern smelled horrid, as if animals had just died somewhere nearby.

As she heard the elevator ascend, she questioned the appearance of Ironwood down here. Surely he should be on the surface giving orders. If we was underground, greeting the batches of civilians, this whole thing could be even bigger than it already was. And that was already hard to top, considering what the soldier told them on the transport. Maybe Ironwood would finally give them some insight on just what on Remnant was happening.

The group was herded right down another wide path. Ruby exchanged some worried glances with her teammates. Weiss seemed to be taking this quite well, and Yang was in her 'protect her little sister' mode, eyeing everyone around them. But Blake looked as if she had seen a ghost. Her brow quivered ever so slightly and her eyes were misty and trying to retreat into her skull. It was nearly the same expression she had worn when she had revealed herself as a faunus to the team.

She was about to speak up to her troubled friend when she was cut off by a soldier commanding her to stop. Looking over to see what was in front of them, she saw General Ironwood stand on top of an old crate. He raised his hand to cease the commotion in the crowd. The group quickly died down to a silence.

Ironwood scanned over the small sea of people, before declaring in a commanding voice, "I will try to make this as brief and as informative as possible," He fixed his shoulders, "I am standing where this city's platform shall be constructed. This where you receive news and public announcements regarding this city and your life in it." Small mumbles were heard among the crowd, "This city I speak if is New Mountain Glenn. Your new home indefinitely."

"What going on?" Someone from the crowd shouted.

"At the current moment we do not know much." The General answered, "But based on certain variables our scientists were able to conclude that within a few days...Remnant's surface…" He paused slightly, "...will be too cold, too lethal for any life to survive…"

The crowd grew very still. Ruby felt her soul being crushed.

"The most important thing to do right now is not panic and be as orderly as possible." Ironwood assured, "Now, all men sixteen and older please follow the soldiers to my right. You will be given excavation gear and begin clearing area. And all women and children, follow the soldiers to my left. You will be given building materials and join in construction of the city. Good luck to you all." The soldiers called for their recruits.

Yang pulled Ruby from her spot, to the specified area. She was as solid as a brick. She wouldn't, she couldn't grasp the fact of being restricted to this underground city her entire life. Her dream to explore the world was being pummeled to death by this unforeseen situation. It tugged at her soul's strings and hit her with the power of a freight train.

"Come on, Ruby…" Yang looked down at her emotionally torn sister, seeing the look in her eyes, "Ruby...come on…" She wasn't talking about moving.

* * *

As they approached a small section of the construction area, they were given a hefty bucket of mortar and a trowel. Around them concrete bricks were stacked up on pallets ready to be laid. An overseer stood up in the center of the complex's foundation, getting ready to shout out instructions to their fidgety workers. This same layout of workers and overseers were set up along the entire length of the cavern; somewhat nine and half kilometers.

Blake didn't even wait for the overseer to climb up onto his pedestal. Everyone watched in the dim light as Blake immediately lifted up one of the large blocks with both her hands, feeling its weight. Fumbling the concrete in her palm, she examined its structure and held it out horizontal. She, got down on her knees, took the brick in one hand, silently dipped her trowel in her tub of mortar, and spread across the marked line set out for them. All eyes were on her as she laid the first brick. No hesitation, she just began the job handed to her. They watched as she took a second brick, that's when she stopped to turn and look around her.

"What are you waiting for? Pick up a brick." She told her fellow workers.

They were stunned, even the overseer. She had just...started. As if she had just accepted her fate. Her team looked her over, and once they saw her face, they knew the true reasoning behind this sudden cooperation. If what they saw was correct, Blake would not be sleeping for a few days. Blake, under her cool shell, was in fact panicking, more than any of the civilians around her. They watched as she laid another brick before the overseer came to their senses and demanded they get moving.

While the sisters stuck to each other, Weiss grabbed a brick and moved up next to Blake. Her eyes crossing over to the faunus as she worked, "Are you okay, Blake?"

Blake glanced up, looking out at the streets before them, "I'm fine," She checked her peripherals.

"It's just you have that look on your face…"

"Really, Weiss, I'm fine…but what about you? Are you okay?" Blake asked, attempting to change the subject. They looked at each other, Blake's pleading eye silently asked Weiss to move on from the subject.

Weiss sighed, lowering her brick down or a second, and paused for a moment, "Not really...I've been just trying to push this off as temporary...but after what Ironwood said…"

"You're worried," Blake finished, "Family, I'm guessing?"

The former-heiress nodded, "They live in Atlas. But that right now is unsettling, considering I have no idea if they have any safe haven anywhere close to this scale, or even one at all."

"I'm sure they'll be fine, I'm sure of it," The faunus tried to assure Weiss, "...also, like Ironwood said, there is still a day or two before the planet freezes over."

"You may be right…"

Suddenly an outburst from the overseer attracted their attention. They were shouting out a command to get moving; loudly. The shouting becoming angrier as the seconds slowly passed by. Ruby was standing in the fire of the superior official, taking the force of their words. That's when Blake and Weiss realized their team leader hadn't moved from her spot. She just stood there and blinked at the overseer, not a word affecting her stance.

The overseer's commands turned into warnings as they reached for the baton on his belt. Blake and Weiss went to shut their eyes, knowing what was coming next after the threats. Before the overseer was able to pull their weapon from their belt, big sister Yang stepped between them, quickly apologizing for Ruby's behavior and pulling her sibling away.

"I feel so bad…" Weiss caught Blake's focus as she set yet another brick.

"So do I…," Blake turned away from sisters, "Ruby looks crushed…"

Weiss' eyes watered, repressing tears, "I'm such a...DUNCE!" She balled her fists.

Blake recoiled in response of the sudden outburst, nearly falling over, "Weiss?"

"I'm such a…" The distressed woman clenched her eyes shut, "I'm such a damn dunce!"

"Weiss, Weiss, calm down...calm down...Why are you a dunce? What happened?" Blake dropped her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I..messed up…" Weiss was handed a concrete block, "This evening….in class...I said something to Ruby…" Blake looked back at her as she applied some mortar, "It wasn't that bad at the time...but now...I didn't think…" She trailed off.

"What did you say?"

Weiss inhaled and swallowed, "I told her...that… she had the rest of her life to explore the world...that today...wasn't the end of the world…"

Blake nearly winced, that did sting, "It's okay, Weiss...no one could have predicted that something this big could've happened…"

Weiss sighed, "I just hope she'll be alright…"

Blake gave a quick sweep of the area, looking for anything or _anyone _that was off, "I hope we all will…" She returned to her work.

* * *

"Ruby...What has gotten into you?" Yang asked as forced another brick into her sister's hands, whom just sighed. They stood up on their knees as they worked on the beginnings of the wall. Not to far away from them was their other two teammates conversing, also on their knees working. Ruby opened her mouth to say something when she was interrupted by Weiss shouting out her favorite slur.

She shook her head and tried again, "Nothing...I'm fine…" The team leader mumbled.

"Ruby…" Yang resurfaced her big sister mentality.

"Really...Yang, I'm fi-"

"Don't lie to me, Ruby…" Yang interjected, "You've been off this whole time...like you just shut off...like you gave up…"

The younger girl was silence for moment, focusing on flattening her mortar, "So…?"

"So?" Yang blinked, she couldn't even believe this was her sister speaking, "You can't just_ give up like that_...Especially _you, _Ruby...It's just not like you...you were always up for the next challenge...And this is it…"

Ruby just continued laying down the bricks given to her, taking her own time to respond. Finally she muttered, "What if this is it, I mean...there isn't anything after this?"

"Come on, Ruby," The blonde slung an arm around her sibling, "Be hopeful…"

"You're avoiding the question…" Ruby stared down at the ground.

Yang sighed, she didn't know how to respond to that, "Ruby...We're people...we don't know what's going to happen next…"

"What's your point, Yang?"

"My point is…," Yang searched for the words, "Maybe you should stop trying to predict the future and revel in the fact that we're still alive…"

Ruby shook her head, "I just want to get back up on the surface as soon as possible...I want to know when this will be over…"

"We all do do, Ruby, we all do," Yang forced a smile, "But maybe not knowing is better than knowing right now…"

Ruby just flared her nostrils in aggravation and tensed up her shoulders and set a concrete block onto the mortar. Yang let her head hang and gritted her teeth, holding back her emotions. This wasn't her sister. It wasn't.

"Look, Ruby-"

"I don't want to hear it, Yang"

"We'll make it through this, you and me, together," Yang put a hand on Ruby's shoulder.

Ruby titled her head in her sister's direction, not taking her eye off the concrete, "You mean it?"

"Of Course…" Yang wore a small smile.

"You two! Get working!" The overseer commanded.

* * *

Blake and Weiss gave no attention the overseer shouting at their friends. They had decided it was best to stay forward. The two girls had been silent for a while now. They just focused on building the wall up higher until they were told to stop. Peering over the semi-tall wall they had built, they scanned the underground cavern.

In front of them, a little ways ahead, was the main road crowded with more civilians from the surface. The main road connected from one side of the cavern, the elevator, all the way to the other side, the large complex with giant smokestacks leading up to the ceiling. Hundreds of complexes, which they had assumed were for shelter, like the ones they were building were being set up from the beginning of the elevator to a couple hundred meters before the smokestack buildings. The area just before the smokestack building had pathways and rails leading into smaller caves; mines. On the far side of the cavern, tucked behind the shelters was a large bit of land being cleared and filled with what looked like loads of earth. A quick look over the shoulder revealed a few special buildings being laid out.

"Fire!" A man close by called out. At his command several workers pulled their triggers on what they could only make out as some sort of harpoons. The guns launched their tethered projectiles high up at the cavern ceiling, piercing the rock. The harpoon heads' cables had disconnected from the weapons long ago, and now steel cables hung the air.

Next to the group of men was a cart, full of thin metal rods. And next to the cart was, "Is that Ms. Goodwitch?" Weiss pointed. The familiar woman by the cart ripped out a very familiar riding crop, and gave it a swing through the air. Suddenly dozens of the metal rods flew into the air, connecting to each other, creating a grid formation before gently raising the completed structure to the steel cables.

"What in the world are they-"  
"-Lights," Blake cut off Weiss, whom just blinked at her. Blake raised an eyebrow, "Did you not read City of Ember?"

"Well I-"

"Girls! Girls!" Weiss was cut off again, this time by another voice. Turning to see where it had came from, the two saw their green-haired history professor sprinting towards them.

Ruby and Yang glanced up at their old teacher, watching him almost trip over himself. He skidded to a halt right before the wall they had just constructed and fixed his great coat. His quirkiness had already attracted the attention of the overseer and most of the workers.

"Sir, _what are you doing_?" The overseer demanded an answer.

Oobleck bounced on his soles and responded, "I need to speak to a couple of your workers!"

The overseer scratched his chin."Under whose authority?"

Oobleck instantly flashed off some sort of slip, "General Ironwood! He has granted me access to speak with any of your workers as I please!" The doctor pointed directly at Yang, "Starting with her!"

The overseer grunted in aggravation and finally accepted his overruling, giving Oobleck a gesture to continue whatever he was doing. The doctor readjusted his glasses and signalled the blonde over to him.

Yang blinked a few times before finally jumping to her feet, walking over to her old professor, "Yeah, Mister Oobleck?"

"_Doctor._" He immediately corrected

"Sorry...What's up, Doctor Oobleck?"

The man rubbed his hands together and donned a gleeful smirk, "Yang Xiao Long, I'm integrating you into the _Arctic Wolf Initiative."_

Again, Yang blinked.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed the read, leave your best reviews!**

_**Love**_

_**~Vox**_


	4. Come and See the World

**Thanks to Spartacus400 on /r/RWBY for beta reading.**

**********Disclaimer************: RWBY is a product of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. All characters are owned by Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC.******************

* * *

**Come and See the World**

* * *

"I'm sorry, Doctor Oobleck," Yang shook her head, "The what?"

"The _Arctic Wolf Initiative!" _Oobleck threw his arms up into the air, praising the title as if it was something everybody had stitched into their brain. "And want I you, Yang Xiao Long, to be a part of it! You and your partner, Blake Belladonna."

The blonde tilted her, "Doctor Oobleck, I don't even know what _it _is?"

"The arctic wolf, Yang! Lives in cold environments? Is sometimes a scavenger?" The hyper professor inclined.

"I'm...still not following…"

"The _Arctic Wolf Initiative_ is two teams, comprised of eight people each, that are sent to the surface to scavenge for all sorts of metal." Oobleck explained with his many hand gestures.

This confused Yang even more, "But, I thought the surface is going to be frozen over in a few days."

"Well, Darling!" Bartholomew zipped a finger up into the air, "We managed to collect some old astronaut suits and we stripped them of a whole lot of unnecessary parts! We just need people in them! Strong, hard-willed people!"

"And…" Yang thought for a second, "You want me and Blake to do this?"

"Of course! Think about it, Yang! You'd get out of here every week or so. You'd see the surface again! You'd see all of Vale and possibly more," The girl froze and her eyebrows shot up as Oobleck continued talking, "But, if you don't want to do this. It is perfectly fine!"

She had an idea; an idea that might help her sister, "I'll do it."

"Great! I will check with Miss Bell-"

"But only on one condition," Yang cut off and pointed to her little sister building up a wall, "You recruit her instead of Blake."

Oobleck fixed his glasses, and speaking in a much more calmer tone said, "Yang, I don't quite see-"

"Doctor Oobleck," She sounded like she was begging, "Ruby...she's been off since this whole things started. And she's really depressed about staying down here for who knows how long. I... I'm her big sister," Yang pointed to herself, "I can let her be like that…"

The ex-teacher scratched his chin, contemplating his next decision.

"Please, Doctor Oobleck...She's strong,...and a leader,...She's my sister…"

After a tense moment, Oobleck finally nodded, "Alright. I see it's for the best. You should have letters come to you soon, they'll give more in depth information about the initiative."

Yang smiled and nodded, "Okay…" She swallowed her emotions, "Thank you…"

"Its my pleasure, darling. Bye now…" He gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder then threw the overseer a polite wave. They just grunted in disapproval and motioned for him to get away from the area now.

Yang let out a relieved sigh and spun on her heel. A smile found its way across her lips as she made her way to her sister. She dropped down onto her knees and grabbed a brick. She playfully nudged Ruby with her elbow, though the brunette just ignored it. But Yang did it again. Then again.

"What do you want, Yang?" Ruby sounded agitated.

"I got good news!" The blonde cheered.

Ruby rubbed her forehead, "What?" She said with an uninterested tone.

"We aren't going to be stuck down here!"

Ruby nearly dropped a brick, "What."

Yang patted her siblings back, "We're gonna be able to get up on the surface soon! We can see the world, Sis!"

Ruby just sort of sat there, looking over her sister, still registering what she had said. She felt her spirit give a kick, trying to bring itself back to life. Yang's smile was somewhat fading as Ruby was still expressionless. Yang wondered if this was a wrong decision, that maybe she should have let Oobleck take Blake with them instead. But then finally Ruby smiled. Oh, she smiled.

It felt like the world was let off Yang's shoulders. Ruby was smiling. Ruby was happy. Ruby was alive. It was all that matters. It was the primary objective in Yang's life. Protect her precious sister. Keep her the pure, innocent girl she knew. Ruby's posture perked up, she got a twinkle in her silver eyes, she was back. She laid down her brick and let out a friendly laugh. She was nearly crying tears of joy.

In a matter of a day she had gone from the most depressed she had ever been since her mother and rebounded back to her normal jovial state. Maybe the end of the world as you know it has the tendency to drag you down into those dark pits quite quickly. Ruby's soul had climbed out of the deep crevices of her mind that she never wanted to return to. She was now basking in the light of her mind, excited for the new adventures that waited for her just up that elevator. The more she thought about reaching the surface, the faster she worked at stacking the concrete, overtaking Yang's progress.

Yang watched over her sister as a parent would watch their youngling play with a toy for their very first time. And that, made her content.

* * *

After what seemed like hours, the first floor of the complex was complete and the work day was winding down. The soldiers had delivered a rough, military-grade cot to each of the refugees in the cavern. The overseer had finally let half the workers off their shift and take a rest. In another two hours the overseer would wake up the others and switch their roles with the labor force.

Blake watched Ruby from afar; both her and Yang as they began work on the inner walls and pillars. The two exchanged a small laugh, probably reminiscing about some happy past. She let out a sort of relieved sigh and turned to the person laying next to her, who was still wide awake. Weiss just blankly looked up at the cavern ceiling, being nearly impossible to read. Was she anxious? Was she angry? Or was she just...thinking?

"Blake."

The sudden calling of her name made her jump and refocus on the reality, "W-What?" She shook her head.

"I'm sorry…" Weiss was still staring at the stalactites.

Blake tilted her head, "For what?"

"Being an…,"Weiss paused, "...insensitive little girl…as you once called it..."

"Why are you apologizing now?"

The ex-heiress swallowed hard and let her head fall to look at Blake, "I've just been thinking...about the...future of our predicament here…and…" She trailed off.

Blake shimmered closer to the other girl, "And what?"

Weiss took a sharp inhale of air, "And I think we're going...to spend the rest of our lives down here...that we'll never see the light of day again…" Blake was silent, "And in a case like this, where the world as we know it has literally ended...we have to change...we have to adapt...to make living here as best as we can make it. We have to try and...give up our past perceptions and prejudices. And adopt a new life."

The faunus laid there, a little shocked as she processed Weiss' words, "Weiss...that's...very…"

"'Unlike me?'" Weiss finished

"No...No…" Blake searched for string a words, "I know you've been trying to get better at accepting the faunus and such...but the process...was still slow. I don't know why just now, you're trying to quit cold turkey… even with the end of the world and all…" Blake chewed on her teeth, "You were always one to stand firm with your beliefs…" She added

"You know I'm a reasonable being, Blake…" Weiss said. Blake looked over at her with a raised brow, "Okay, most of the time I am one…" She admitted, "But what I mean is that...I… will do things with good reasons, I don't just perform meaningless actions. There is always something behind my actions, no matter how small they are."

"What's your point, Weiss?"

Weiss glanced up at the ceiling, "It means I will change if I have to." Her eyes then met Blake's in a serious gaze, "But can you?"

"O-Of course I can...I was the first one to and start building…"

Weiss shook her head.

"What?"

"Blake, back there," Weiss looked over at her other teammates working, "You didn't change…You were trying to distract yourself, as if you're running from something..."

Blake's eyes sunk a little into her head, trying to retreat. She opened her mouth to respond, but Weiss stopped her before she had even began.

"Don't even try to make an excuse, Blake. After being in our team for so long and many years of experience in therapy...It's becoming easier to pick out the little things…" Again, Blake tried to say something, though she was yet again interrupted, "And Blake, I'm not going to force you to say anything. It's just that you had the same look on your face…" Weiss sighed, "The same look that was on your face when we found out something about you that you didn't want _anyone_ to know...When we found out you were a _faunus_…"

"W-Weiss, I don't-"

"You don't have to say anything, Blake. I just want you to know, it might be a rougher route, but it'll be an easier one in the long run if you let us know what it is..."

There was silence between the two. The only sounds were bricks beings moved and random coughs from the surrounding refugees. Blake stared, not really with an emotion, just _blankly_ stared at Weiss. Weiss hoped she'd let on at least something.

Finally she said, "Wake me when our shifts are up," And she rolled over, facing away from Weiss.

Weiss tightened her fists and sighed, looking up the stalactite directly above her, "Whenever you're ready..."

* * *

Ironwood rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling the stress melt away slightly. This was was going to be a long day...or month...or however long this was going to be. He grabbed a nearby bottle and uncapped it, pouring out the dark liquid into a small shot glass.

He sighed, "Bottoms up…" He tossed his head back. His fist tightened slightly as he felt the burn of the alcohol.

The man sighed and chewed on the edges of his teeth. His scroll beeped in his pocket, alerting him to an incoming call. Ironwood reached into his coat and pulled it out, checking it to see who was ringing him. Reading off the caller's name in his head, he leaned back in his chair.

"Maybe the lab boys will have some good news…" He said, not putting much faith into his words. He tapped the answer button and the scroll expanded, displaying a man's face, who looked like he was ready for a trip to the arctic, "Tell me something…" The General asked.

The scientist adjusted his glasses, "We have found evidence supporting our original claim…"

He gently swirled around his empty shot glass, "Lay it on me…"

"Well, Sir, the constellations. They aren't correct; to any season. Some constellations are still their places, though they're slightly altered, but most of the constellations are not correct. Which would indicate that…-"

"I know, I know," Ironwood poured himself another drink, "We've moved." He took the shot, relishing in the burning sensation.

The scientist thanked another person off screen as he was handed something, "General Ironwood, we have an update on the star and our sun."

"Go ahead." The General rubbed his eyes.

"The star we're now currently orbiting is a red dwarf, though that is quite obvious just by looking at it. But, if you would like the specifics…" The scientist flipped through some papers and fixed his glasses, "It's a somewhat large dwarf, around point thirty-five solar masses, thirty-five hundred degrees kelvin, and four hundred and three thousand kilometers in diameter. Now, Sir, I don't know how up to date you are on your stars and constellations, but with the shifted constellations in the sky and this information, we can confirm we're in the _Waagen_ constellation, orbiting the star _Verurteilt_."

James pressed his thumb into his palm, "Your point, Salvai?"

"My point, Sir, is that we now know where to look for our sun. And...well…"

"Yes, Salvai?" The General was growing annoyed

"It's uh…" Salvai scratched the back of his head, "uh..."

Ironwood tightened his grip on his shot glass, "What. Salvai."

"Gone. Sir. The Sun it's either gone...or out…"

"How...is any of this possible?"

Salvai flipped through his data, "We believe it was some sort of quantum teleportation because... we don't have any other way to explain it. Nothing on this planet, that we know off, could perform such a task as to _teleporting a planet twenty light years..._"

James sunk into his chair, silently chewing on the edges of his teeth. His fingers tapped his mostly barren desk.

The scientist blinked, "Uh...Sir?"

"That is all, Salvai."

"Oh-Uh, Y-Yes, Sir…" The scroll quickly compacted itself. Ironwood tossed the device onto his desk. He stared at it for a few minutes, thinking to himself about his current issue. There was no possible way he could get hands on with this problem. He couldn't even fathom the current issue. What can one do when their planet is_ abandoned _in orbit of another star? How do you fix that? Where do you begin?

In a fit of anger and aggravation, the General roared and shoved everything off his desk. He grunted and recoiled when a splinter had made its way into his finger. He examined the tiny wound before looking down at his scroll, name plate, pens, and a few picture frames down at the scroll. A long crack stretched across the glass of one of the frames, over the picture of his old light-blonde companion. He sighed and fell back into his chair, rubbing his temples with his uninjured hand.

What was he going to do? What were _they_ going to do?

* * *

**I hope you liked this chapter! Tell me what you thought of it in the reviews**

_**Love,**_

_**~Vox**_


	5. Assigned

**AN:**** This chapter is a tad longer than normal, but it delves deeper into the workings of New Mountain Glenn and how the girls are going to spend the rest of their indefinite time there.**

**Thanks to Spartacus400 on /r/RWBY for beta reading.**

**********Disclaimer************: RWBY is a product of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. All characters are owned by Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC.******************

* * *

**Assigned**

* * *

They couldn't count with days anymore, not without a sun. They counted by shifts. There were four shifts a day, each one being six hours. Rotating between work and the basic necessities, sleep and food. After each shift the city seemed to just have grown a story or so by itself, brick by brick. At about what had been around twenty-six shifts, the roofs of the buildings were finally being put in place.

Ruby and Yang were up on the top level, using new building materials to plot out the roof. The fifteen meter by fifteen meter building had risen to five levels through their hard labour. While the sisters were up top, some others were making their way slowly up the interior, laying out door frames and their doors. The whole project was moving along nicely; no accidents, no setbacks.

The refugees of Vale had come together to create thousands of five story tenement homes. Each able to house eighty people in their small area of fifteen square meters, with each level holding sixteen people in four rooms, four people in one room. To have as much space as possible between the four rooms, the building's interior had no stairs. The only way to enter your room was to climb a set of railed, exterior steps and walkways. All rooms had two bunk beds mounted from the wall, two tin nightstands, a table, one door, a wood shutter window, and one closet. There were no restrooms in the building. Tenants had to use the closest public restroom available.

Ruby had just set down the first plank of wood of the roof. She went to reach for another and as soon as she wrapped her palm around it, their overseer called them down. Looking down at the base of their creation, the girls saw the rest of their build's work force crowded around something. Yang shouted down a confirmation of their descent to the overseer and proceeded to plop down to the walkway below. Ruby followed, quickly overtaking the blonde.

Yang didn't really mind nearly being flung off the side of the walkway by her sister. She was just finally happy to see her lil' Ruby was her energized old self still; even after a week in this underground dump. The red girl yelled back to the dragon to hurry up, excited to see what was taking place on the ground level.

"Next, I have a Blake Belladonna and a Weiss Schnee!" A man called out, holding up two sealed envelopes to their recipients.

The black and white pair swiftly took the letters from the courier's hand and opened them up. Inside was a folded piece of paper that listed directions to work, work hours, your new partner, and what your new assigned job was.

"...Farm..er?" Weiss surprised, read off to herself, "I'm a farmer now?"

"And I'm your partner now, as well." Blake added, reading her note as well.

"B-But, I'm a Schnee! I cant-" Weiss could _feel_ the faunus girl staring daggers at her from the side. It shut the ex-heiress up and made her stay true to her word, "I _can _do this. Because I'm willing to _change_."

"_Unlike some"_ She nearly hissed at Blake.

Blake was taken slightly back by the vitriol of Weiss. She knew the girl was rough.

But damn.

Though Weiss' snotty attitude was completely smashed as a young, hooded girl sped past her, making her jump. Weiss scowled at Ruby before being pushed aside by Yang's palm.

The courier turned raised his arm once again, "Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long, special assignments for you!" He held up two unique envelopes, both a strange tint of blue with a red wax seal.

"That's us!' Yang directed the man's attention.

He turned to the two girls, "These were written and sealed by the General himself, I wish luck to both of you." The two letters were held out to them.

Yang quickly swiped hers and slid her finger under the cover, ready to pull the seal open. But then she noticed her sister's hesitation, Ruby's hand twitching just before the letter. Yang gave her two light pats on the back and a quick one sided smirk. Ruby returned the smirk with a small smile and pulled the letter from the courier's hands. She held it close, examining the seal.

This was right, Yang could feel it. This was when she'd keep her promise to protect her sister. She was saving her from a life of rotting underground. She was saving Ruby from herself. She was saving her life.

Yang gave her sister a nudge on the shoulder and gestured to her finger under the seal. Ruby nodded, seathing her thumb under the envelope's cover.

"One, two, three…" The tore the letter open and unfolded the message.

_Recipient: Ruby Rose_

_Assigned Partner: Yang Xiao Long_

_Assignment: Scavenger (Arctic Wolf Initiative)_

_Description: You are one of the sixteen lucky persons to be selected for the Arctic Wolf Initiative proposed by Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck. The Initiative plans to send groups of eight members to all areas, far and wide, of the surface in order to collect usable metals for tools and machines. You and your partner will be equipped with state-of-the-art, extreme environmental suits that will allow you to walk freely among the surface. You and your partner will be given one of these tools to share between the two of you: A crowbar and a sledgehammer._

_You will labor in the Arctic Wolf Headquarters located near the smeltery area at the far end of New Mountain Glenn. A normal work day will consist of six hours, exempting surface runs, where you will assess your next scavenge operation, keep your equipment clean and functional, and maintain the lorry._

_You start as soon as you complete the construction of your tenant complex._

"Oh my…" Ruby's eyes shimmered.

"Looks like you'll be getting that wish of yours after all." Yang folded up her note and tucked it under her arm, "You ready to get back up there?"

"Yeah…" Ruby sped toward the tenant complex, tugging at her sister to budge.

Yang nearly toppled over, "What are you doing, Rubes?"

"Come on!" The ecstatic girl said, "Let's get back up to the roof and finish so we can get out from this hole!"

* * *

Once the building had been complete, the old Team RWBY began making their way down the main strip. Ruby danced around the three in her excitement. Yang was simply smiling, while Weiss and Blake gave each other the evil eye.

"Ruby, could you quit it?" Weiss spoke up.

"Leave her alone, Ice Queen," Yang nudged her.

Weiss snapped her head around, "I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Whatever, Ice Queen."

"Come on, guys, lighten up!" Ruby practically sang.

"What is there to lighten up for?" Blake interjected.

"Uh…" Ruby thought for a second, stopping her prancing, "We don't have to lift concrete bricks anymore!"

Weiss blinked, "But now I have to lift a hoe for hours and hours. Great. That's _so _much better."

Blake sighed, "Do you just complain about everything?"

"Like you can say anything, Blake."

"_Excuse me?" _The faunus' eyes narrowed,"At least when I complained about something _I _tried to do something about it!"

Yang put up a hand, "Guys…"

"You didn't exactly _do it well,_" Weiss emphasised

"You _did not_ _just say __**that**__,_" Blake felt her fists tighten.

"Guys." Yang popped in again.

Weiss craned her head, "What are you going to do? Punch me?"

"What you just did, you _little __**insensitive**__ brat_," Her feline ear twitched, her teeth were gritted, "Shows that _you _can, in fact, absolutely _**not **_chan**-**"

"GUYS!" Yang's shout interrupted Blake's, "SHUT UP!" She huffed.

The blonde pointed at the two instigators, "I don't know what exactly changed in the past week, but when we first got down here, you two were perfectly fine! But lately you've been at one another's throats! Whatever's happening is between you two, you need to figure out; fast. We can't survive down here if we're going to tear ourselves apart. Now, I don't care what you do, you can talk, murder someone together, whatever it takes to get whatever this is fixed. Can you do that?"

Weiss and Blake looked at each other and sighed. They turned back to Yang and nodded.

"Good. All I want is for you two get along and be happy. I'm not saying you have to screw each other or something like that. Just get along! Can you _please_ do that?

Another nodded from the adversaries.

"Good. Just dandy. Let's get to our jobs. Come on, Ruby." Yang turned forward and didn't look back, leaving the two girls stunned.

Ruby simply just stayed quiet while she processed the entire ordeal.

"I'm...gonna go...with her…" The short brunette darted off.

The black and white pair gave one another a glance and scoffed.

"Why are you on my case so much? Especially when you haven't changed at all! This, this-_thing_ we have, whatever it is, it's obviously a two-way street. And If I'm going to progress as a person, you either have to get far away from me or get on the same page. So, what will it be, Blake?"

Blake gritted her teeth together, thinking to herself. A nervous gulp traveled down her neck. Looking at Weiss to reply, their team leader shouted out,

"Hey, guys, come here! Now!"

Panning over, they saw the sisters sprinting to a crowd. Weiss sighed before nudged her head in their direction. Blake just nodded and they took off after their teammates.

"Wait! You imbeciles!" The ex-heiress shook her fist.

* * *

Skidding to a halt before the back of the crowd, or what seemed to be mob, they were able to peer over the heads of the civilians to see what was drawing all the attention. It was General Ironwood, standing behind a podium on the now complete platform. He raised up his hands, trying to settle the angry crowd.

As it simmered, a member of the mob shouted out, "What's happened to Remnant? It's been a week and we've heard absolutely nothing from you!"

"Now," Ironwood sighed. He looked terrible, almost as if he had aged ten years in the matter of a week. Dark rings hung under his eyes, and he was struggling to keep them open. His hair had turned mostly grey. And he was slightly hunched over as his posture degraded.

"I understand most of you are anxious," The General went on, "We ourselves still do not know what happened."

"That can't be true!" Another crowd member piped up, "You've been sending up scientists and all sorts of equipment through that damn elevator! You can't say you don't know anything!"

Ironwood scratched his neck, "The data collecting on the surface has become...difficult. Instruments are being damaged in the lethal weather conditions, data is being corrupted, we cannot currently make any assumptions based on incorrect-_Hmmph_!" He dodged a stone that was thrown at him, "-fractured data."

"Not even the slightest idea?"

"I am sorry. We have no further information at this current time. Now, if you will," Ironwood checked his scroll, trying to keep his head low as more people took up items in their hands to aim at him, "Please join the rest of your coworkers at your newly assigned jobs." He turned away and walked from his podium. New members of the New Mountain Glenn police force taking guard of him as the crowd threw whatever they could grab at him.

The mob disturbed Ruby, it bothered her as how some could hold so much anger to someone who has only done their best to perform to, as if they don't care that they're even alive right now.

Ruby froze as she nearly scared herself to death.

_She _didn't care that she was alive when they first arrived here.

Her eyes stayed wide upon her realization. She took a sharp breath in and flexed her fingers. She grabbed her sister's shoulder and whispered, "Come on, let's go…" She spun around and planted her foot onto the ground.

Ruby paused for a moment, still holding on to her sister. She turned slowly back to Yang.

"Thanks…" Ruby said softly before running off.

Yang sighed and smiled to herself, "Dork.." She snickered to herself before taking chase.

Weiss looked over to see Ruby and Yang had disappeared for a second time.

"They did it again!" She looked back at Blake only to see her walking away, "Hey!"

"Come on, let's get going." The faunus called back.

"Say something before you leave!" The ex-heiress whined and followed Blake.

* * *

"Here are your tools," A man behind a kiosk dropped a pair of hoes into their arms, "You will join the other cultivators in row C, getting the land ready for the seeders. Hoe the land every few inches or so."

The two girls looked over their new tools as if they were some sort of jewel.

"What are you two waiting for? Go." The man waved them along, "I also recommend you get some more suitable clothes for this job next time."

They sighed and nodded before turning to follow the rest of the workers sent to the underground field. Weiss did her best to find a comfortable position to hold her new tool, finally settling on propping up on her shoulder.

She craned her head up to Blake, whom was relaxed in her stride. Something wasn't quite right with her; while she looked perfectly fine, being near her emitted a strange feeling of anxiety. And earlier, she had started an argument between them through a single comment. Not to mention the hostile comment was backed by what seemed to be the most vile acid ever conceived. Yes, Weiss had spoken to her before, and while the ex-heiress' words were bitter, they were needed. As Weiss has learned over time, you cannot be subtle with Blake; only straight forward and blunt. Either something was just wrong or Weiss had rubbed the faunus a bad way. And Blake was one to hold a grudge.

"Blake?" Weiss asked

"Yes?" The taller girl replied rather plainly.

Weiss chewed on her teeth for a moment, "Look, I don't know what happened back on the main strip, but I'm sorry...If I said anything that offended you…"

"No, I'm sorry," Blake abruptly interjected, "I've been thinking about what you said last week and the more I think about it, the more you're right. I shouldn't have snapped on you. I've just been handling this situation poorly; typical Blake…"

"Come on," Weiss responded, "Don't be too hard on yourself. This situation isn't the most preferred," She looked down to the ground, watching her feet move against the stone, "But since you have been thinking about what I said," Weiss started again, glancing up at her partner.

"No...Unfortunately, No. I can't tell you." Blake cut her off.

"What? Why?"

Blake sighed, "It's better off if you don't know, that includes Ruby and Yang. The less you know about this, the safer you all are."

"If it affects me and the others somehow, we should know something!" Weiss exclaimed.

Blake shook her head, "No."

"Blake!"

The faunus rubbed her brow with thumb and index, "Just watch out for yourself. Okay?"

Weiss gave the the girl a confused and concerned look, "Why?"

"Just... be on your toes…" Blake eyed something behind her.

* * *

The sisters sat a group of foldable tables all centered at a one of the walls in the medium grey room with the rest of the _Arctic Wolf_ members. On said wall, was a giant crudely drawn map of Vale and what looked be a map of all of Remnant sticking out from under the map of the city. To the left of those was a small lipped shelf just barely making it between the corner of the wall and the maps. Tall posters, maybe somewhere near a meter and a half tall, sat on the shelf, leaning against the wall longways; rolled up and banded. To the right of the maps was a blackboard that creeped out from below the maps. The visible end was segmented into three parts labeled: _Route, Gear, Guidelines. _Under route was a rough sketch of the surface of Mountain Glenn. Listed beneath gear was a whole plethora of equipment; '_wolf'_ suits, oxygen canisters, sledgehammers, crowbars, m-clamps, rope. They didn't know what some of these things were or what they were going to be used for, but they figured their questions should be answered soon enough. Then there was the guidelines, and that was what really caught the girls' eye. It started off in big underlined letters:

SCAVENGE RUN GUIDELINES

1\. All gear must be triple-checked

2\. You will stay in formation while traversing

3\. While at a scavenge point, you must stay within 25 meters of your partner

4\. Recover all usable metals (Iron, Steel, Bronze, Gold, etc)

5\. A minimum of eleven kilograms must be collected from each member

6\. ALL metals must be deposited in the lorry

7\. The lorry is to be considered the #1 priority

It was very blunt and seemed to be a fairly standard until they got to the end. In bolded letters it said:

**IF YOU FALL BEHIND**

**YOU CAN AND WILL BE LEFT BEHIND**

It definitely ringed off a few alarms in their heads. Was the surface going to be that bad to the point they might die? It discouraged Ruby, but it also intrigued her as well.

"Evening Wolves!" Oobleck barged into the room, slamming the door shut, "Now if your job description didn't quite make things clear to you, allow me: You are now _Arctic Wolves_, a group of sixteen selected members to become scavengers that will return to the surface and retrieve all usable metals that can be forged into new tools and weapons for the people of the underground!" He quickly rambled on through his words before slowly saying, "Understood?"

The entire group gave Oobleck a nod.

"Alright, Good! Now, Orientation!" He clapped his hands together, "You will be split up into two groups of eight, each group going up to the surface once a week. I will be your captain, and I will join both groups for both expeditions as your captain. Once on the surface, four members will push the lorry, which I will tell you about later, while the others guard it in a diamond formation." He drew a box on the chalkboard representing the lorry, then four dots behind, in front of, and to the left and right of it to accent his description. "You'll switch shifts every hour or so. Then when we get there, you'll park the lorry in the position I select, then move outward from it, on foot. Only go as far out as a kilometer or two, then return after about an hour."

Oobleck moved over to the shelf on the left and stuck his hand behind the rolled up maps. Retracting his hand, he pulled out a medium sized metal rectangle. It was around twenty-four centimeters long and maybe twelve in width. He turned and showed it to the group.

"This is an M-Clamp! Each of your _'wolf_' suits are equipped with an M-Clamp. Simply place your metal findings on it, and it will magnetically hold them for you. Understood?"

Another nod from the group.

Ruby tapped her fingers against her table as Oobleck went on about their _'wolf' _suits, or 'simplified astronaut suits' as he called them. She didn't really care right now. She wanted to get up on the surface and explore, even if she had to push something called a lorry. Just get out there and out of here, away from the underground.

She wanted to see the world again.

* * *

**This chapter was such a pain to write, but I did it for my readers. Please leave a review containing your thoughts about the chapter or the entire fic itself. Quite interested to hear some feedback from you guys.**

**But anyway. Onto Chapter 6.**

_**Love,**_

_**~Vox**_


	6. Sweet Dreams Are Not Made of These

**AN:**** This will be the last chapter for the next two weeks. I got finals coming up and need to put head to them. I'll get back to writing this story ASAP.**

**Thanks to Spartacus400 on /r/RWBY for beta reading.**

**********Disclaimer************: RWBY is a product of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. All characters are owned by Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC.******************

* * *

**Sweet Dreams Are Not Made of These**

"Suit up!"

Ruby ran to her new locker, hands shaking and arms like jello. Today was day one for her team. Her heart was pumping a million times over its normal rate, her body was already sweating from the anticipation and nervousness. Finally, she would get to see Remnant again. She would get to explore it. Maybe not the way she intended, with helping people and all, but it was exploration nonetheless.

Yang smiled as she watched Ruby frantically try to spin in her lock combination. She sighed in relief knowing she made the right decision for her sister. She hadn't seen Ruby this excited since she got into Beacon; which was all the more reassurance for Yang. Sister protected, mission accomplished.

With her duty served for now, she turned to her own locker and opened it up. She slid off her dirty, scraped up, black and yellow outfit that she had been wearing for the past week. Tossing her old wear into the locker, she removed a white one-piece thermal suit. She stepped into it and pulled it over her undergarments. She sealed it shut and fixed her breasts under the skin tight suit; heat prickled her skin as the suit already started its magic.

Now ready for outfitting, Yang took her helmet and turned towards a doorway. Ruby had already sped away through said doorway. Smiling once again at her baby sister, she followed her to the next room. In Outfitting, the walls were lined with oxygen tanks and seventeen special lockers, each containing a _wolf _suit and the initials of the owner. Just like Oobleck had explained, the _wolf_ suits were simplified astronauts suits with new equipment.

Stepping up to the one labeled '_YXL_', she punched in a code. The locker opened and granted access to her suit. Yang tugged down the heavy suit from its compartment, she nearly topped over. The suit was like medieval knight armor's distant cousin. She had completely misjudged its weight. Despite its burden, she put her helmet aside and hefted the suit over body, clamping it shut. Then to make the suit complete, she found the groove for her helmet and twisted it into its place. The suit beeped a few noises that meant the suit was completely sealed and was pressurizing.

Looking over to the opposite wall that was covered in portable tanks, she saw Ruby's were the only ones missing as the rest of the team had just finished putting on their thermals and were just making their way into outfitting. She greeted the other members, Pyrrha, Ren, Yatsuhashi, Sage, and then gave a grunt to Torchwick, who didn't hesitate to return it with a snarl. The team was currently short one member, apparently Scarlet had been critically injured in a construction accident.

Yang pushed the thought aside and pressed her back to the oxygen tanks. After a couple seconds of shimmying, the tanks automatically clipped on to the suit. She leaned forward and rolled her shoulders getting used to the new weight. The blonde then moved into the next room, which wasn't even a room at all, it was a garage. Specifically for the lorry.

Inside the garage was Oobleck and a still ecstatic Ruby standing by the lorry. The lorry was, in its simplest description, a glorified shopping cart. The cart was just bigger than a large car. It stood about three meters tall, and was made of lightweight alloys treated with a special coating. At least that was what Oobleck said it was constructed of. Instead of normal tires it utilized all-terrain treads It held a couple extra tanks of oxygen and an oxygen compressor to refill tanks; though it was currently out of order.

"Alright, shift one, version two." Oobleck ordered as the last of the team walked into the garage. Ruby and Torchwick lifted themselves up into the lorry and leaned up on its rails. Yang and Yatsuhashi pushed the cart from behind while Pyrrha and Sage pulled. Ren took guard at the back and their captain Oobleck at the front.

The Doctor raised his hand, "Roll out, Wolves!"

* * *

The head of the hoe impaled the soil. Then it went up in the air. Then it impaled the soil again. Into the the air. Into the soil. Into the air. Into the soil. Over and over.

Blake put her hoe into the ground and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Turning to look behind her, she saw Weiss just left from her. A little ways down the field were Nora and Jaune, both hefting large bags of seeds. It was only the sixth shift of the week and the workers already looked fatigued. Jaune was stumbling around, Weiss was getting slower, and Nora...well, Nora was actually fine.

She glanced up at the heat lamps that hung over the entire fields. They were always on, beaming down their artificial light rays to service their plant underlings. It was almost as if they were working in a desert during the peak of summer. It made the workers extraordinarily tired and dehydrated. Blake was sure that she had sweat more than half of her body weight already and Weiss had probably done the same. A few workers had started hallucinating already, shouting that someone was whispering into their ears. This whole operation was a mess for the laborers.

"How are you doing?" Blake asked

"I-I'm…" Weiss took a breath, "Fine…"

The faunus turned back to her partner to examine her well-being. Weiss' legs were barely able to keep her upright, stumbling all along the dirt. Her eyes were straining to even stay open as sweat rolled down her face.

"Are you sure?" Blake stopped for Weiss, placing a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder to support her.

Weiss shooed the girl's hand away, shaking her head. She wiped her face and continued on with her assignment.

Blake sighed and moved along as well, "Just tell me-"

"I'm fine. Blake." Weiss' agitated voice made itself known.

"Okay…" Blake dug her hoe into the ground, and she waited for Weiss' hoe to do the same.

From behind, Blake heard something much heavier than a hoe hit the dirt. Glancing down revealed that Weiss had fallen headfirst into the soil in exhaustion. She gave the fallen queen a nudge with her, "Come on, stop messing around."

Weiss didn't respond, physically or verbally.

"Weiss?"

Nothing.

Blake bent down to roll the girl over. Blake sighed as she discovered Weiss had fainted and had given herself a nasty mark from landing on the metal end of her hoe. She tried to lightly shake the Weiss awake. Still nothing.

"Hey, you two!" Some man called.

Blake snapped to the direction of the outburst.

It was one of the new police members patrolling around the area with his partner, "Stop slacking and get to work!"

"She needs first aid!" Blake shouted back.

"What did I say, young lady?" The man ignored reason.

"But, Sir!"

The officer walked up to the edge of the field, "Do not make me come up there!" He waved his baton in the air as a threat.

"She needs help!"

"That's it!" The officer hurdled himself onto the raised field, stomping right over to Blake.

"W-Wait! Stop!" Blake tried to turn and run, but tripped in the dirt.

"Damn Faunus! Never listen!" He kicked Blake in the ribs.

Blake let out a howl of pain, her body involuntarily curled up. She felt the baton strike her back, forcing the air out of her lungs and winding her. Blake struggled to get oxygen into her body as another hit landed on her upper arm. This time she heard a loud, teeth-gritting crunch and she tried to scream, but only got out a plea for air. She grabbed at the dirt, attempting to crawl away.

"Don't even try, you damn bitc-!" The officer's legs were pulled out from under him and he toppled over.

Blake placed a hand on her presumably fractured arm, causing a sharp inhale. It was tender and pulsating with pain. Without its bone intact, her arm felt as if it was going to collapse under itself at any moment. She tried to get up off the dirt, but putting any weight on it shot pain up her body. It forced the girl to bite her lip and dig her nails into her fists. She tried not to move as her senses echoed the pain through her body. Blake closed her eyes and just writhed in agony for the time being.

She heard the officer stand up and try to insult someone, but he was cut short. The next thing she heard was something heavy hit the dirt. Blake could feel something was moving near her. A hand touched her good arm and she flinched away.

"Blake…? Are you... okay?" A familiar voice breathed out.

Blake peeked her eye open, relieved that it was Weiss, who looked like she was about to pass out again, "What... happen to the officer?"

"Pressure…" Weiss wavered, "Poin…." She fell backwards, out like a light.

A second officer ran up to the three, baton in hand, "You two are coming with…" He glanced down at his unconscious partner, "With me."

* * *

After their short journey down the main road, they were finally shoving the lorry into the elevator. The crowd had seemed confused as to why a giant metal cart was being transported through the city. Though, they had gotten out of the way quite quickly, probably because they wanted nothing to do with it. Especially with growing tension between the government and the people. No one really looked at them, maybe some batted an eye, but none stared. If this was Vale, everybody would have been asking questions about this. But then, these people had been through a lot in the last week. Either way, It gave Ruby an eerie feeling.

"We're in!" Called Pyrrha from the front of the cart.

"Shift one, version two." Oobleck said as he stepped up to the elevator controls.

As the two giant doors began shutting, Ruby and Torchwick hopped out of the lorry and took positions at its sides. They felt the elevator spring up slightly as it unlocked. Their captain turned to them.

"Alright!" He exclaimed, "Lock in your O2 pipe!"

Ruby took the end of the white flexible tube, blindly searching for its port on the right of her helmet. Once it found its way into its place, she screwed it in, locking it in.

"Begin O2 flow!"

Opening a flap on her forearm revealed a panel and some buttons, displaying important information such as O2 levels, O2 flow rate, battery power, and atmosphere integrity. And after an incredibly long course, taught by their captain, she knew what each of these meant and how they were related to one another. Ruby pushed in a sequence of buttons to open up the O2 valves on her tank. A hiss filled her helmet as the breathable oxygen began to fill her suit. She watched as the atmospheric integrity indicator flashed green on the panel.

"Final Check!"

Ruby played with tubes endpoints on both her helmet and tank. They refused to move a budge, proving that they were securely fastened. Placing her hands on the sides of her helm, she tried to twist it in anymore than it already was.

"Check!" Ruby notified Oobleck, the rest of the team followed in her action.

"Alright," Oobleck straightened himself, "Today, we are scavenging for materials in the immediate area. That's two kilometers around the elevator. Do _not_ leave that radius!" He looked over his team, each one of their faces. Some were nervous, some were excited, some were blank; just like the classroom. He felt the elevator stop as they passed through the first gate. He flexed his fingers and pushed his shoulders back, "Prepare yourselves for the most lethal environment any being has encountered since the beginning of the space age."

Ruby could barely keep herself inside her suit. Hell, inside the elevator. Her body was shaking so much in anxiousness, it nearly shook her suit apart. Sweat dripped down her brow. She heard the second gate open above them as elevator unlocked from its rails.

'_Just one more story, just one more story, just one more story,'_ Bounced around in Ruby's head. Every second felt like an hour. She was so close to breaking free from this containment. Even though she had waited patiently for a whole week, these last few moments were killing her. One more moment in here was just one less out there. She wanted to get out into that world and explore every crevice, nook, cranny and shadow it had to offer. She wanted to find danger and extinguish it; just like heroes in the stories.

The elevator stopped.

The huge doors began clanking and clinking as they unlocked.

A loud clunk echoed the room as the metal joints creaked as the moved.

The doors inched their way open.

And All the color drained from Ruby's face.

* * *

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine."

"How's your arm?"

"It's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Weiss."

Weiss twiddled her thumbs as she sat awkwardly in the seat. The room was dull, gray, and was cramped. She would have gotten up and looked around, but her hands were cuffed together and chained to the ground. She glanced over at Blake's right arm and its makeshift cast. It was actually more or less a splint. Thankfully, Blake was fully aware of her aura, so the fracture would heal quite quickly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Weiss...I'm fine," Blake restrained herself from snapping, she knew Weiss was trying to be a friend, but it was getting annoying, "I'm fine. I was fine five minutes ago. I was fine ten minutes ago. I'm fine, I'm ok, I'm great."

"Oh…" Weiss bit her cheek, "Okay…"

They had just been through processing. They had been charged with assault of an officer and had their shifts lengthened by three hours. Weiss was worried that neither of them were going to make it through the next couple of weeks. She fainted today, and who can say that it won't happen again. Also with Blake's arm injured to the point where she can't use it, these next days, weeks, were going to be long and painful.

"I'm sorry, Blake…"

"Weiss," Blake shook her head, "Don't apologize. This wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it is! If I hadn't fainted, we wouldn't be in this position right now."

"It's not your fault, Weiss," The faunus faced the ex-heiress, "You can't have total control over your body. You were dehydrated and exhausted. You were being roasted by heat lamps. I'm surprised we made it that far into our shift without dying."

"But now we have extra hours to work now."

Blake shrugged as best she could, "So we'll work them. We'll get through it."

Weiss' eyes roamed the floor, avoiding direct contact with her partner.

"You...do want to get through this don't you?"

"W-What?! O-Of course!" Weiss rebounded, "I-I'm not suicidal!

"It's your family isn't it?"

Weiss froze. Her shoulders fell forward and she pulled her neck in; curling in her chair.

"You're...still worried…"

"We...haven't heard anything...from any of the other kingdoms…" Weiss clenched a fist, "They're probably already-"

"Stop." Blake stared at Weiss in disbelief, "Don't say it. It only makes it worse. They're probably just having trouble sending a message...of any sort. I'm sure they're fine-"

Just then a door opened and an officer shoved a man into the room. He was covered head to toe in ash and coal residue. The officer forced the man into the chair across from the girls and locked his cuffs to the ground. The officer grunted and walked back to his work station, slamming the door shut.

Blake's eyes widened. She was like a deer caught in headlights.

"Blake?" Weiss nudged her, "Blake."

The faunus just took a fearful gulp as she recognized something under the man's soot and coal coating.

_Horns._

* * *

**_Leave a review and tune in next time for the next exciting chapter of Left in the Dark!_**

**_Love,_**

**_~Vox_**


End file.
